Hope Behind Her Giggle
by TheLastRose
Summary: This is one story Carter the Priest never told. HMMFoMT oneshot. CliffxMain pairing but mostly about Carter. Read for a little hope.


A.N. Title sounds cheesy to me.

Disclaimer: TheLastRose owns nothing!!

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Hope Behind Her Giggle

Carter stared out at Mineral Town. He couldn't see much from his place standing outside the church doors. He could see the stone pathway that led from Rose Square a little ways South come up to the church before it turned West and ran along the store fronts. Trees, painted in cool hues of greens and browns lined the pathway on both sides and short lamp poles stood at even intervals between them and where people walked. Carter could also spot the roof of Doug's Inn tilled in reddish brown skimming the tops of the trees whose leaves whispered in the morning breeze. The sun was just rising beyond the tree line to the East, its soft light flooding over the town and Carter pondered what it looked like peaking over the ever shifting horizon of the sea.

Carter was new to the town; in fact he had just gotten settled in the day before. An early riser he quickly realized that he would have to wait until later to introduce himself to the people in Mineral Town. At least until they were awake. A warm summer breeze brushed his cheek and ruffled his light brown hair. Half turning to return inside his vision fell across the small pathway that led to the small fenced off graveyard. Curious, Carter slowly approached the gate and unlocked it. The rusted entrance groaned in protest as he forced it open and let himself into the lonesome sight. His feet carried him along the first of two rows of graves to the far end of the yard. A distant bird chirped cheerfully causing Carter to turn toward the Inn to look for it. The black colored took flight circling the tree that it had perched on and flew off South-Westerly.

"Are you this town's new Priest?" a soft feminine voice asked startling the boy. Carter whirled around to face the speaker, a young girl with long flowing black hair and shining blue-green eyes. She was clad in an ankle length dress with short sleeves and a matching wide brim sun hat.

"That's disrespectful!" he reprimanded nodding at the fact that she was sitting atop one of the gravestones.

"I don't think she'd mind," she replied lightly. "I'm Ariel Bloom by the way."

"Carter," the priest supplied. Another slightly stronger wind whistled past making his clothes ripple but oddly not touching Ariel at all. She regarded him silently for a moment before speaking.

"Is something on your mind?" she asked leaning back a little ways.

"Worried is all," he answered, absently drawing patterns in the dirt with the toe of his shoe. "Afraid is more like it."

"About what?" Carter gave her a doubtful look and she returned it with a playful hurt one.

"Come on, you can tell me," she pouted cutely at him. "I promise I won't tell."

"It's just….I see all these graves and realize that life is short. I'm afraid to become attached to the townspeople," he explained carefully. "What will I do when they….?" Ariel watched as he waved his hands weakly unable to say the word that sat on the tip of his tongue.

"It's true, people live and people die, it's all part of life," she murmured. "But the fact is you're alive now and you can change things, for better or worse. The question is do you WANT to?" Ariel giggled, a gentle noise like water flowing over pebbles that felt like music to his ears. Carter began thinking deeply he tapped his chin, turning on his heel to stare once more out at the tree line. After a moment a wide grin broke out across his face.

"I do!! I want to make life better for the people I meet! Thank you Ariel!!" he cried turning back to her…..only to find he was alone.

"Ariel? Ariel!" he called but no one answered. Carter looked back at the tombstone where she had been sitting. Unruly weeds had grown up and covered the name. slowly he knelt down and pulled out handfuls of grass and pilled them next to the marker. What he red scared him.

_Ariel Bloom_ was carved neatly into the stone.

_She touched all our lives, _was written underneath it. Startled Carter stood up rereading the name.

"She couldn't have she?" he wondered wandering back inside.

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Five years later Carter stood outside the church waiting for May and Stu the town's children to arrive since he watched them from one to four every afternoon.

"Good afternoon Carter!" two voices chimed cheerfully.

"Good afternoon Cliff, Hope." He smiled nodding at the couple. Hope was a golden haired farmer who had moved in four years before taking over the run down farm on the far end of town. Cliff stood with one arm around her waist holding her close while she stroked her large belly. They had been married for over two years and were about nine months pregnant with their first child.

"How are you two this fine day?" he asked eying her stomach as the baby kicked.

"Okay, we're just on our way to the Clinic," Cliff explained looking at his wife lovingly.

"She's so close…" A little breeze began playing with their hair, tossing it about playfully.

"Hey Carter…" Hope was watching the graveyard with her sparkling blue eyes. "It might seem odd and I never really thought of it until yesterday but the first day I came here I walked passed here early in the morning. The truth is I thought I saw a girl with flowing black hair sitting on one of the stones. She had this really happy giggle…." She paused taking a deep breath.

"I passed it off as nerves but yesterday I came here really tired out and heard her giggling again." Hope smiled brightly. "It was as if she was telling me not to give up. To keep making people smile. You know…?" For a moment all was silent until Cliff glanced at his watched with a worried frown.

"I'm sorry Carter but we're going to be late," he said gently leading Hope away.

"Goodbye Carter!" she called over her shoulder with a small wave.

"Goodbye you two!" Carter called back turning to look at the graveyard, one grave in particular.

"And yes," he whispered to himself. "I do know." And as the wind whistled a soft giggle danced by.

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A.N. I had this idea for a while but I've never had the drive to write this until I told a friend Ariel's line. "People live and people die its all part of life. But the truth is we're alive now and we can change things for better of worse." Then it all kinda popped into my head so here it is.

R&R No flames please!

TheLastRose


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